Having left his rivals in the shade for much of the Ebor festival, Ryan Moore eschews York on Saturday to try to further underline Ballydoyle’s grip on next year’s Classics at the Curragh.
There’s about €5.5 million in prize money up for grabs at York, including the historic Ebor, one of Europe’s richest handicaps, which has a handful of Irish hopes in a bumper 22-runner field.
In comparison, the Curragh’s pair of Group Two features look dry affairs with a minimum of betting interest. But the pair of unbeaten two-year old stars, Bedtime Story and Henri Matisse, are a priceless prospect for their English rider.
Bedtime Story, who will be cramped odds for the Debutante Stakes, has particularly caught the imagination, with a spectacular 9½ length rout in Royal Ascot’s Chesham one of three wins that have propelled her to the top of betting for next year’s 1,000 Guineas and Oaks.
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Henri Matisse mightn’t have been as eye-catching in two starts but only his stable companion The Lion In Winter is ahead of him in some ante-post lists for next year’s 2,000 Guineas. He faces a trio of rivals, including stable companion, Rock Of Cashel, in the Futurity.
The Lion In Winter won at York on Wednesday when Moore’s tactical acumen and big-race judgment got no better advertisement than with City Of Troy’s front-running success in the Juddmonte International.
The following day’s Yorkshire Oaks victory for Content once again looked a triumph for the 40-year-old, who is riding at the peak of his powers.
Content was his 13th Group/Grade One success to date in 2024, having reached 200 career top-flight victories on Whistlejacket in last Sunday’s Prix Morny at Deauville.
Operating at such a rarefied level no doubt puts in context Moore having to skip a shot at breaking his Ebor duck at York, where James Doyle has been drafted in for the Ballydoyle hope, Queenstown.
Aidan O’Brien has made little secret of how he thinks the lightly-raced gelding has a big shout in the historic contest.
Admittedly, that was before a ‘car park’ draw on the wide outside of the 22 runners, although that obstacle has been overcome in recent years by winners such as Absurde a year ago.
He is among five Irish-trained winners in the last decade and his trainer Willie Mullins – also an Ebor winner with Sesenta in 2009 – is back with an intriguing prospect in Hipop De Loire.
Whatever about the profitability of blindly backing O’Brien runners this week, it’s interesting to ponder what price Hipop De Loire might be for this were he trained by anyone but Mullins.
With just a single losing spin over hurdles to date for the dominant jumps trainer, only those with an in-depth knowledge of flat racing in Poland can fully work out if an official 103-rating is kind or not.
A total of 17 starts at the Sluzewiec track in Poland will mean little to most but his form does also include a Listed win in Germany in 2022.
Colin Keane, an Ebor winner with Mustajeer in 2019, teams up with the Mullins runner, while Billy Lee will be on board Henry de Bromhead’s hope Magical Zoe.
The smart hurdler could still be unexposed on the flat and in contrast to Queenstown has a box one draw. De Bromhead’s rare flat runners in Britain boast a notable strike rate, highlighted by Term Of Endearment’s Group Two success at Goodwood earlier this month.
It is Queenstown that has topped betting lists however, as O’Brien bids to bridge a 23-year gap back to his only Ebor winner, Mediterranean.
Twice runner-up to Kyprios in the spring, Queenstown has been freed from his role as home sparring partner to the Gold Cup champion and O’Brien has ventured that he thinks he’s running off a good mark. James Doyle won last year’s Yorkshire Oaks and Prix Vermeille for O’Brien on Warm Heart.
Sunday’s Naas feature is the Group Three Tally Ho Ballyogan Stakes, which has attracted a trio of cross-channel hopes.
Top-rated in the 12-strong field is Pink Crystal, whose trainer William Haggas won the race a couple of years ago.
David O’Meara’s Nighteyes won over course and distance on his last start and will try to emulate her dam Penny Pepper, who scored in this race in 2017.
Perhaps the most interesting horse lining up, though, is the unexposed Firebird, who is unbeaten in two starts for Paddy Twomey since her 260,000 guineas purchase last year.
Firebird followed up a Cork win with little more than a piece of work over this course and distance and has been rated 96 by the handicapper. That puts her right in the mix in terms of figures and could understate what’s lurking underneath the bonnet.
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